A.D.H.D.

As a teen, I was diagnosed with A.D.H.D. I took Ritalin in High School. I stopped taking it near the end of High School, and went through my senior year clean as a whistle.

Then I started college. This wasn't the time I dropped out of college right after graduating High School, but rather the time I went back two years later. I started, but noticed I was having trouble focusing. So I sought medical advice, and they confirmed that my A.D.H.D. had carried over into adulthood. I have adult A.D.D. Drop the H off, cause I don't get hyper.

I took medication for a year while attending Ohio University's Southern Campus in Ironton Ohio, and living in Sciotoville, Ohio. But then I moved to Reynoldsburg Ohio and began attending Ohio University Zanesville. I sought medication in Columbus, and came across a dead end.

You see, in Portsmouth, my doctor visit was free due to income. I had to pay for the meds, but the doctor visit was not a concern. In Columbus, I tried the same approach, but due to my family status and income status, I didn't qualify. I couldn't justify the cost of a doctor bill just to get the Ritalin, so I stopped taking it and struggled through my last two years of college.

That was 2002. I've been off of Ritalin for a decade. I drink lots of caffeine, which wakes my body up, but mentally it levels me out. The caffeine stimulates the part of my brain that makes me focus. So in essence, I self medicate by drinking boat loads of caffeine.

But now I'm in school again, and the caffeine doesn't have predictable results. It's caffeine, not A.D.D. medication. But that's not all. I'm a multi-entrepreneur with so much on his plate that a lack of focus can really cause problems.

So here I sit thinking that perhaps I need to bite the bullet and see what medication options may be available for my A.D.D. I don't wanna cop out to my A.D.D., but quite frankly it is a mental condition that limits my capacity to focus, and if I'm gonna reach my 5 year goal, I need to focus.